Sex offender gets deal, but snagged by registry

From today’s paper: A repeat sex offender will serve state prison time — not for the sex charge he pleaded guilty to but because he didn’t report an address change.

Zachary A. Jackson, 31, was arrested last May after Waterford police found him drunk shortly past midnight at the Erie Canal’s Lock 2. His children, ages 2 and 8, were with him. He was arraigned and released.

A few hours later, he was arrested again and charged with rape and other sex-related charges. According to police, he raped a woman at his apartment the previous night while his children were present.

While free on bail, he moved from his Waterford address but failed to report the move to police and was arrested again on Feb. 18. This time he was charged with a felony for failure to report an address change, which he was required to do because of his status as a registered sex offender. Jackson was convicted of sexual abuse in Oregon in 1999.

When it came time for trial, the victim did not testify, damaging the prosecution’s case against Jackson. Without the victim’s testimony, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Jensen agreed to a deal in March allowing Jackson to plea to three misdemeanors — sexual abuse and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

He was sentenced to one year in county jail. But the charge for moving without telling police triggered a state prison stint.

Jensen said the short sentence for the child endangerment charges is a ”sad commentary on our statute,” adding ”sometimes it seems our animal protection laws are stronger” than the laws to protect children.

County Court Judge Jerry Scarano sentenced Jackson to 1 1/3 to 4 years in state prison, concurrent with the other sentence.

Jackson’s lawyer, Lee Kindlon, said his client’s prior convictions caused police and the district attorney’s office to overplay their hand in the rape case.

“They wanted to believe he did this based on his history,” Kindlon said, but the victim wasn’t a good witness.

“The woman involved has serious, legitimate credibility issues and she was afraid to come to court and have her story questioned in the light of day.”